BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves and Matt Beleskey had two goals to help the Hartford Wolf Pack snap their four-game losing streak as they beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4-1 on Friday in an Atlantic Division meeting at the XL Center before a season-best crowd of 5,707.
The Wolf Pack record improves to 24-10-4-5 (57 points). They will play host to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Saturday night before their brief three-day AHL All-Star break.
The Wolf Pack retains first place by percentage points (.30) as the Hershey Bears won Friday as well, 5-2 over the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Shesterkin will start again in net against the Phantoms.
Bridgeport record drops to 15-24-4-1 (35 points). They occupy the eighth and final place in the Atlantic Division. The Sound Tigers head to Springfield Saturday.
“The best recipe to break a losing streak is to come back and play at home,” said Wolf Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch.
The Wolf Pack home record stands at 17-1-0-2 and 7-9-4-3 on the road.
Having Shesterkin back in net makes a big difference. Would the coach ever lobby GM Chris Drury to have the Russian rookie stay a little longer?
“That would be nice,” Knoblauch said with a laugh. “We realize this is temporary, and we’ll use him for as long as we can and enjoy him while we can until he returns to New York.”
In the second period, Hartford pulled away and took control of the game.
The Wolf Pack pocketed their second goal shorthanded.
Captain Steven Fogarty, always a threat with a man down, capitalized for his third shorthanded tally of the season.
Fogarty pried the puck away from Sebastian Aho then outmuscled him as he drove to the net on the left-wing and slipped a backhander into the net for his 11th of the season by netminder Christopher Gibson at 5:22.
“That was the difference in the game tonight. Fogarty was very persistent in getting that puck. He was able to break away (from his check) and did the right thing with it,” said Knoblauch.
Beleskey was highly complimentary. “(It was a) great move, great hands, great goal. It changed everything and definitely got us going.”
Bridgeport head coach and ex-Wolf Pack, Brent Thompson, was none too pleased. He called a timeout and read his team the riot act.
“Anytime the other team takes a timeout middle of the game (early in the second period) you know you’re doing something good,” said Beleskey,
The Wolf Pack got stronger and picked up the third goal in spectacular fashion. Four of the five players on the ice, except Yegor Rykov, got touches of the puck.
The sixth guy got the scoring play started.
It all started with Shesterkin behind the goal cage. He zipped a perfect lead pass to Phil Di Giuseppe at the Sound Tigers blue line. Di Giuseppe turned and curled and fired a pass to Darren Raddysh who was coming with speed coming through the middle and just entering the offensive zone.
Raddysh dished it off beautifully to Boo Nieves in the right circle. He was standing in the right-wing circle and one touched the pass to Beleskey coming off the left-wing. He redirected his 12th into the net at 15:20.
“That was a great passing play all around. All I had to was just tap it in,” remarked Beleskey of the second powerplay goal of the evening.
Knoblauch is in awe of Shesterkin’s skills.
“That’s the second time he has set up a powerplay goal for us this year with his passing. Its so nice to have that extra defenseman back there. We moved the puck and our powerplay ahs to get better and it was important we got of them tonight (two on three not shabby) we got those contributions.”
Raddysh felt fortunate on the play.
“Igor got it going and Phil made a nice move and pass and everything was in front of me, everything just worked perfect for that goal.”
Shesterkin factored in the fourth goal doing his regularly appointed duty of stopping pucks.
Coming out on Bridgeport’s Colin MacDonald (Wethersfield) on a breakaway with 2:54 left in the period and he came out and challenged him and cutting the angle down and made the stop.
“Your not going to replace a goalie like that,but we also how how important he is to this team. but we have to tighten up defensively we got outshot again tonight. We can’t always rely on that (having Shesterkin) it’s certainly nice have him,” said Beleskey with a smile of acknowledgement of what he means to this team.
Later in that sequence with the Sound Tigers pushing back. The puck was pitchforked out of the zone seemingly by Mason Geersten who was credited with the assist.
However, head coach Knoblauch after viewing the video several times said in the post game that it was actually Ryan Gropp who got the puck in front of Shesterkin and sent it off the center ice boards to give the Beleskey the breakaway.
Then Beleskey hopped off the bench screamed across the ice right to left retrieved the loose puck off the left wing boards in the Sound Tigers zone.
Beleskey caught Gibson cheating too far on his right post fired his second of the night 13th of the season over his glove hand far side at 17:25 for a 4-0 lead.
“To be honest, I was asleep at the bench I forgot to go out for my shift !! So I jumped on at the right time they usually don’t end up happening that way ! Again it was another nice pass,” said Beleskey sheepishly laughing at himself turning a potential bad moment into a goal.
Likely Gropp will get the official assist when a scoring change request is filed with the league.
In the third period, the Wolf Pack continued their season long third period shutdown routine and are now 18-0-1-2 when leading after two periods.
Of the 10 shots in the third period just one got by Shesterkin on the evening as Travis St. Denis was able to corral a bouncing puck off a Steve Bernier shot attempt.
Igor got a piece of, but couldn’t contain the wobbly puck and former QU Bobcat spoiled the shutout bid with his seventh goal at 15:07,
Shesterkin almost had the capper for the evening with the goalie pulled he wanted the puck to try to put the puck in the net.
“I didn’t hear him call for the puck I wish I had heard him, I would have gladly given him the puck,” smiled Raddysh.
The Wolf Pack were able to cash in on their second powerplay to take a 1-0 lead.
The power play defense combo of Raddysh and Yegor Rykov were able to generate offense quickly as Rykov at the right point sent a pass from the right point to Raddysh at the top of the left wing circle.
Raddysh’s shot went off the back of Sound Tigers defenseman Sebastien Aho as he turned to block the shot and protect himself, but the puck richochet right over to an open Phil Di Giuseppe.
Di Giuseppe one timed the puck past a diving Christopher Gibson at 16:42 for his 12th of the season in his first game back from Rangers recall.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch was true to his word and change his defense combos going for the lefty-righty combo set.
He split his top pair of Vincent LoVerde and Darren Raddysh pairing them Libor Hajek and Yegor Rykov respectively and reunited Mason Geersten and AHL All Star selection Joey Keane.
“Were happy with things we just aiming to find the right balance we haven’t had (lefty and righty shooters) and it was a good night,” said Knoblauch.
While they tossed nine shots pm goal the Wolf Pack to have missed the net as on that many as well.
In one sequence they had four good quality open shots on net sent it either high or wide.
“There is fine line between waiting to make the play and holding it too long. I think if we can get into a better groove on that will do better,” said Beleskey.
The Wolf Pack got much better in the second period.
LINES:
Nieves-Di Giuseppe-Lettieri
O’Regan-Fogarty-Kravtsov
Jones-Newell-Gettinger
Beleskey-McBride-Groppn
Hajek-Raddysh
Keane-Geersten
Rykov-LoVerde
SCRATCHES:
Jeff Taylor (healthy)
Ryan Dmowski (healthy)
Lias Andersson (suspended)
Gabriel Fontaine (shoulder surgery-season ending).
NOTES:
-Knoblauch is looking forward to his time in California as the head coach of the Atlantic squad.
“I very much am looking forward to this. Look, I’m just the guy representing us. There are more players who have contributed to the success of this team than I have.
I just hope Vinni and Joey score some goals and we get the win !!” remarked Knoblauch.
Keane is quite excited.
“I’m really looking foward to it get a chance to meet some new guys and enjoy the sun and the game. I worked really hard last summer to prepare for my first season and this is the reward.”
-Boo Nieves has 11 points in his last eight games.
-Beleskey has three goals in his last two games
-Shesterkin lowered his AHL best GAA to 1.89 GAA and has a 16-4-3 record.
If he played a full year he might challenge all the Wolf Pack goalie records held by Jason LaBarbera.
-In Portland, Maine tonight goalie Adam Huska stopped 44 of 45 shots in his ECHL debut and Ty Ronning scored a hat trick as the Maine on just 22 shots scored an 8-1 tout over the Worcester Railers in the battle of the affiliates of the Wolf Pack and Sound Tigers.
Lewis Zerter-Gossage tallied his first ECHL goal of the year in his first game since being sent back. While former QU Bobcat Jordan Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford) had a tough night going a team worst minus four.
The Mariners are in fourth place in the ECHL North Division with a record of 21-18-1-1 with 44 points in the six points behind Brampton.
Maine has a rematch in Worcester Saturday night at the DCU Center with the David Cuniff coached Railers who started the year as the Wolf Pack assistant coach.
-Former QU Bobcat Sam Anas of Iowa with 45 points in 45 games and is the third leading scorer in the AHL was added to AHL All Star Classic roster.
-Ex-Pack Justin Fontaine (no relation to current Wolf Pack Gabriel Fontaine) signs a contract for the rest of the season with the Cologne Sharks (Germany-DEL).
